Ray-Ray McCloud III followed up a great play with a boneheaded penalty.
In the middle of a long drive late in the second quarter, the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver had a really nice 18-yard gain for a first down. His catch took the ball to the Philadelphia Eagles' 23-yard line and gave his team momentum. That is, until he messed it all up.
Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson pulled off McCloud's mouthpiece and the receiver responded by punching him in the facemask. And he did it right in front of a referee.
McCloud throws a punch right in front of the refs and gets a flag #ATLvsPHI pic.twitter.com/AenyHiVq1B
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) September 17, 2024
That wasn't an incredibly violent punch, it was more pushing his balled up fist into Gardner-Johnson's facemask, but still. That was really dumb. That's usually an automatic ejection, so McCloud is lucky to still be in the game.
He was flagged 15-yards for unnecessary roughness. The Falcons settled for a field goal and trail the Eagles 7-6 at the half.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ray-Ray McCloud Punched C.J. Gardner-Johnson Right in Front of an Official.
